A Modern Woman's Perspective Of The Kingdom of God on Earth

February 10, 2015

The Reason We Might Be Left Behind

I cannot lay claim to this concept. It was suggested to me by PLW, who heard it on a podcast by Daniel Duval, a righteous man who teaches the Truth through his radio program. It makes a lot of sense to me, and I thought I would pass it on to you for your consideration.
It seems to me that much of the Church is awakening to the thought that the Pre-Tribulation Rapture doctrine might not be in God's playbook. I confess to a non-denominational approach to the Bible, so I'm not sure which branches of the Christian Church have, or have not, adopted this teaching, and it doesn't really matter -- the point of this essay is not to criticize, but to examine the reasonableness of this argument.
DISCLAIMER: I do not claim to be an expert on this subject, or to know God's thoughts, or to be privy to His counsel. I don't believe anyone can say for certainty, based on Scripture, when this event will happen. In fact, I have been part of various Bible study groups where Pre-Trib, Mid-Trib, Pre-Wrath, and Post-Trib Rapture positions have each been successfully defended using Scripture. Only God Knows! So I am not going to present a detailed thesis on the emotional and historical reasons for holding the Pre-Tribulation position. I have done that in a post titled, The Tribulation: A Sensitive Subject. This time, I want to approach the subject from a different perspective; taking all emotion out of it.
For starters, I would suggest that all Believers would prefer to be taken out of this world before the Great Tribulation descends upon mankind; before the earth and all its inhabitants become the recipient of God's wrath. That's a very rational desire.
But try to look at the timing of the Rapture from God's perspective. The one thing we can all agree upon, and which is verified without a doubt in Scripture, is that there will be a time of great distress, tribulation, and persecution on the earth before Jesus returns, right? And we know that God desires that "none should perish", correct? The final part of this equation is the fact that "the saints" will be raptured -- whenever that event might occur. So who and what constitutes "a saint"?
The word “saint” comes from the Greek word hagios, which means “consecrated to God, holy, sacred, pious." According to Ephesians 4:12, the ministry, or work, of the saints is to "build up the body of Christ", which I take to mean encourage, grow, or strengthen. So, can we agree that those raptured will be God's "A-Team", so to speak? Those who have lived a life in service to Him and His Son.
Now, let me see if I can paint a picture of the End Times scenario .... the world has become increasingly wicked, and the influence of the Devil has grown to great proportions. Satan has his counterfeit political system (embodied by the Anti-Christ and his Beast administration); his substitute economic system (Mark of the Beast); and his false religious system (run by the False Prophet). All of these systems will be persecuting everyone who does not bow down to the false god, Satan himself.
But, let's go back to one of the foundational principles of God's character ... he desires that none should perish. Why would he take his A-Team out of the game, just as the competition for souls is at a fever pitch?
And you need to understand this VERY IMPORTANT POINT: I do not believe that the Western Church today is aware that we are in a Spiritual War. We look at the horrific actions of ISIS, the conflict in the Middle East, and our own national crises, and we think we are fighting against evil men of the world. But we are fighting a SPIRITUAL WAR, and when we are faced with the Tribulation, God's "A-Team" will be trained in spiritual warfare. They will know how to rebuke a demon; they will know how to stand against the powers of the air; they will understand the Enemy in all his facets.
If they are taken out of this world at the beginning of the Tribulation, how do those left behind have any chance of resisting the Anti-Christ? With a lack of God's saints and representatives, wouldn't all men perish? Doesn't it seem more logical that God would want his "A-Team" to be in the thick of the spiritual battle -- in full "ministry mode" to help plant the seeds of salvation for every one of His creations?
Doesn't it make sense that we will be at our most valuable to God's Kingdom during that time of Tribulation? Won't our willingness to endure and to suffer for Christ, if necessary, be the greatest testimony to convince an unbeliever to resist the devil and accept God's gracious gift of salvation?
As I said at the beginning of this post, I do not proclaim to know the time of the Rapture, but I feel safe in asserting that our service to God, His Church, and His Kingdom will never be more valuable than during the Tribulation. God wants as many to accept Salvation as will. At what point He will achieve His "full number of Gentiles", I cannot say. But whenever that happens, He will pull His people out of the earth, because "we are not appointed to suffer wrath" (1 Thessalonians 5:9).
So, in conclusion, let me say this ... no man knows God's timetable or His strategy. Is it a specific number of saved that must be reached? Will it coincide with one of the Lord's Feast days? No man can tell; certainly not me. But this I do know ... It will be a joyous day; a day that will be the culmination of living a faithful and obedient life unto the Lord; the first day of all eternal days, in which we will live with the Lord. Any suffering, persecution, or tribulation will be worth it!

1 Thessalonians 1:10 "when He comes, in that Day, to be glorified in His saints and to be admired among all those who believe, because our testimony among you was believed."

11 comments:

You are absolutely correct. Our calculations among my group of friends, some of it based on dreams and visions that the Holy Spirit has blessed us with to clarify prophecy, point to early fall 2017 as being "the end of the end". It is my personal opinion that members of secret societies have been taking the mark for several years which explains the tremendous increase in such things as bipolar disorder, psychopathy and perversions. Thank you for being brave enough to endeavor to wake people up to the truth.

Belle, I never thought about this point of view but it makes perfect sense from Gods perspective. Why take out your first string spiritual warriors in the biggest game of good and evil the world has or will ever see. A pre trib plan makes no sense. The problem is no one has told the church that A) They are expected to use their authority from King Jesus to stand and fight against fallen principalities and B) That they will not be taken out early. Those tribulation saints will need spiritual warriors who understand how the Kingdom of God works and an example to follow. Hey Church! Come out of your slumber and start learning Gods ways.Your prosperity gospel is going to be of no use! Start learning how to take Jesus' authority and fight. Time is short!!!!

God has put it upon my heart that the Church needs to wake up to its calling to partake in Spiritual Warfare, just as you said -- through the authority given to us through the power of the Holy Spirit and our Savior, Jesus. Satan's minions know how to fight this battle and we see the success of their efforts in our culture today. We need to put on the whole armor of God and go to war against them! Thank you for your excellent comment!

God has only promised us to keep us from His wrath. Saints through out all time have lived through many tribulations. Why should we be any different? The first 5 seals are actions of men that God allows to come upon the world--tribulations. God's wrath begins after the 6th seal is opened. That is when Jesus appears in the sky and we are raptured.

And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;

13 And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.

14 And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.

15 And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;

16 And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:

17 For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?

Matthew 16 say's exactly what the person equipped with the Holy Spirit and the Word of God is Able to do, and the gates of hell cannot prevail against it.The first thing any must do is allow the Lord to show them as He did Peter what sorts of things to avoid. One of them being not to allow human understanding to trump the revealed will of God in the Word.Matthew 16:13 When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?

14 And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.

15 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?

16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.

17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.

18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

20 Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ.

21 From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.

22 Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee.

23 But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.

It is most interesting that chapter 16 starts out talking about those seeking a sign. A lot of resource and attention is being directed towards these things, while they can be used as evidence to raise awareness to those who are sleepy, I can spend far to much time looking for what the enemy is doing and not enough time living with regard for what the Lord has done.I see one of the biggest causes of sleepiness in the church is it's death grip on tradition's brought in by catholicism long long ago.

As Christians, we ALL need to be prepared to witness and preach the Word of God "in season and out of season" ... in other words, ALL THE TIME. The Church has indeed gotten lazy about doing this. And in reference to the Scripture you have cited, it is incredulous to me that people would think we will not suffer for our faith, just as Jesus did. To think we will escape any persecution is selfish and reminiscent of Peter's falling for Satan's deceptive message.

There are 3 Raptures to go:Pre Trib Rapture of the Bride (Mature Christian Church), Mid Trib Rapture of the sealed 144000 of Israel and then the Post Trib rapture of the Bride Israel and the remaining God's people

Luke 12:35-48Describes 3 Raptures and His believers are told to watch, Jesus leaves the wedding of the Bride (Mature Church) and is coming for those that are sealed of God the 144000 of Israel who are teaching about God, the managers of His servants. Also note the verse says second and third i.e. 3 Raptures all together. Those that do God's will be saved, those that are to worldly will be left behind for Tribulation = beaten with many blows.

(Revelation 12:1-6(NIV) Describes Israel from Genesis 37:9=10 Joseph had a dream of the sun and the moon and 11 stars + himself made 12 stars in total. This woman represents Israel and the 12 tribes who came from the 12 brothers. Notice this Male child is snatched to Heaven i.e. Raptured and the Woman escapes into the wilderness for 1,260 days which is 3 ½ prophetic years which is half way into the 7 year Tribulation.)

(Revelation 7 speaks about these 144000 who are the Man child who are sealed, )

(The most important spring crops were cereals: barley and wheat. A spring ritual took particular note of the cereals: Newly harvested grain could not be eaten until the firstfruits of grain had been offered on the “day after the Sabbath” of the Festival of Unleavened Bread (Leviticus 23:9-1, 14). Pentecost, near the end of the grain harvest, included grain and loaf offerings (verses 16-17). Pentecost was also called “the Feast of Harvest” (Exodus 23:16). The Barley matured first – The Christian - followed later by the Wheat – Israel. The priests would offer a portion of the Barley that had matured first then the rest of the Barley could be taken and then later the wheat would ripen and again the priests would offer a portion of the wheat that had ripened first to God then later the Wheat crop was harvested.

This shows the order of the Raptures : 1st Rapture - the First fruits of the Christian when Jesus and those that were imprisoned in Hades were freed and taken to the Father, then the 2nd Rapture - the rest of the Christian Bride, the 3rd Rapture - First Fruits of the Wheat – the 144000 of Israel who turn to Christ and then later the 4th Rapture – the rest of Israel and God’s people.)

1 Corinthians 15:20But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.1 Peter 3:18-19That meant the death of his body, but he came to life again by the Holy Spirit. It was in with the Holy Spirit that he went and preached to the imprisoned souls of those who had been disobedient in the days of Noah—the days of God’s great patience during the period of the building of the ark, in which eventually only eight souls were saved in the flood.Ephesians 4:8 (NLV) “When Christ went up to heaven, He took those who were held with Him. ”

(Jacob who was symbolic of God’s people had 4 wives; he worked 7 years first for Leah and then 7 years for Rachel. Leah had a servant called Zilpah who she gave to Jacob as a wife and Rachel had a servant called Bilhah who was given to Jacob as his wife. Jacob loved Rachel as God loved Israel so Rachel is symbolic of Israel but Rachel was married last so Israel will be taken last. Rachel servant Bilhah symbolizes the 144000 of Israel who are God’s servant. Leah was married first who symbolizes the Christian Church and her servant Zilpah symbolizes the first fruits of the Christian Church Jesus and those that were taken to Heaven with Him)

We know the Tribulation of Israel is 7 years i.e. the bride price of Rachel but Leah also had a 7 year bride price. Jesus preached for about 3 ½ years before He was crucified so there is another 3 ½ years to go before the 7 year Tribulation can begin for Israel

Revelation 2:10(Church of Smyrna-Church of suffering) you will suffer persecution for ten days(ten years). Ezekiel 4:6 a day for each year.

Anon, your analysis is very interesting, and I am sure that you are correct about some issues. However, you identify the 144k as Israel when the Bible tells us that they are Jews from all 12 tribes. Since most "Jews" in Israel are not biologically descended from Abraham, and are partakers of the Babylonian religion, I cannot agree that the 144k are Israelis, but rather, they are the ones that are pulled from the four corners of the earth to Israel, to teach the real Jews that are flooding into Israel from other countries where anti-Semitism is ramping up at an alarming rate. A fair amount of us are descended from the 12 tribes, most unaware of this. Since it is Satan's desire to kill every Jew in the world, this is one of the reasons for all of the DNA studies. Some genetic studies have been done on both Israelis and Arabs within recent years. The majority of "Jews" in this study had little, if any, of Abraham's DNA, where the Arabs had a great amount, because they have kept their bloodline clean, as the Jews failed to do. Naturally, the Israelis refute these studies, but I believe them. You must remember the hidden association of the Israelis with the Catholic church, due to the fact that they all are partakers of Babylon, the Synagogue of Satan. You must ensure that all the puzzle pieces fit together. The remnant of Jews will flee to the desert, perhaps Petra, and be ministered to. God will see to it that the ones that survive the soon-coming war are actual descendants. He told me that we would be farther along in the prophetic timeline than people would be aware. The time is shortened, remember, for the sake of the Elect. I believe that Rev. Bill Fredericks is correct about the mid-tribulation period having begun last April.

This is extremely interesting: http://www.nowtheendbegins.com/blog/?p=30736A Charismatic World Leader Appears from Nowhere and Takes Control of GreeceTheGroxt1 has always interpreted the "dead" leopard in the Denver Airport mural as Obama, who changes his spots. But as Steve Coerper points out, the leopard is mentioned in the book of Daniel as a symbol of Greece. Was the leopard only sleeping? This guy is worshipped like a movie star in Greece. He is an atheist and a communist, establishing close ties with Russia and Pope Francis, even to the point about encouraging the peace process in the Middle East. He is currently 39 years old. Eyes open.

By Pam Kohler

About Me

Christian, Conservative, American woman. I am awake and aware of the state of my country, and am determined to stand up for what I believe in. I will boldly proclaim the Truth of my Faith, and share the journey that my Lord is taking me on. I am not afraid to challenge old OR new belief systems, always using the Holy Scripture as my guide. I am firmly committed to being "in the world", but not "of the world". There is a purpose for my life, and I am determined to fulfill it. Join me on this journey in this crazy world, and let's see where God takes us!